Today we are going to talk about overcoming obstacles. (But first, check out my previous posts so you understand where I’m coming from: Post 1, Post 2.) As many of you filmmakers and artists know, it’s difficult to rely on others when your production budget is zero dollars, especially with casting.. in my film, I have six roles: Rachel White, Elizabeth Lewis, Emera Green, Riley Jones, Ren Thatcher, and Theo Evans. To attract talent, I put up posters around the city of San Francisco, advertising and spreading the word about an open casting call. My goal was to invite people to send in their audition materials via email or text so I could pick my favorite actors and then contact them individually, but as you can tell, it did not work out the way the I wanted. I did not get a single email!
This made me feel like I wanted to quit. I began to spiral downward until I realized that through my high school drama club, I have dozens of actors at my disposal. I asked around and was able to cast a few of my roles: Rachel, Ren, and possibly Emera. I still have three or four roles to cast, so if you’re interested or if you know someone who would be interested, please comment on this post and I will give you further information. This is an example of the format I would like the audition tape to follow. If you would like to see the bloopers of me trying to make this reel, click the link to Billie Zeng’s post, Inside the Riptide: To Bloop or Not to Bloop.
For my next post, I will show some behind the scenes of filming the short film once fully cast. You will get to meet the cast and see the way that I direct and most likely more bloopers. I’m really excited to show all of you the film as it unfolds. thanks for following my journey to the pilot!
